Good as New / Youth

"Mm!"

Hearing the confidence in Saka's voice, Maya could only set aside her worries for now and watch Kuta in silence. The worry on her face began to fade, but her hands tightened around Saka's.

Paying little attention to Saka and Maya, Kuta stared at the Seven-Star Sword. He reached out, hesitated, then gripped the hilt without another thought.

The instant Kuta grasped the hilt,

the Seven-Star Sword seemed to come alive. Green light flared, and an icy aura rose from the blade, coiling around Kuta's hand

before trying to climb his arm.

But the black aura rising from Kuta's arm held it back.

Kuta stared at the green markings writhing across the back of his hand like living snakes. A cold glint flashed in his eyes.

"Demonic Power?"

He had felt this kind of power when he extracted Enel's Rumble-Rumble Fruit.

The Demonic Power inside the Rumble-Rumble Fruit had been more violent, but it had lacked awareness.

The power within this sword was weaker, yet it seemed conscious. It simply had not awakened; everything it did came naturally.

"This world really is fascinating."

They said a god had bestowed this sword. What god? It was probably a devil all along.

A thousand years ago, the sword had destroyed the Kingdom on this island. It must have been to drain the people's life force.

Later, Maya's ancestors had somehow sealed it away.

And the power behind that seal was something he did not understand at all.

"A Formation?"

"Or something from an Alien Civilization?"

At that thought, Kuta recalled the fleeting sense of being watched—and the danger he had felt—when one casual strike of his triggered something on the Sky Road.

"Hmm... another thing I can't explain."

"Kuta, are you all right?"

Kuta had been holding the sword without moving